Sunday, March 24, 2013

Cycling tourism to be a reality in Sarawak

KUCHING: Tourists who wish to cycle to experience the beautiful sceneries of Sarawak might find it easy to bring their bicycles to the state following the discussion between Ministry of Tourism Malaysia with Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia.

Deputy Sarawak Tourism Minister Dato Sri Dr James Dawos Mamit yesterday said the two local airlines would provide the facility for tourists to check-in their bicycles.

“With such a facility, more tourists will want to ride in Sarawak to have a different experience. For instance, if tourists ride along Jalan Puncak Borneo, they can see a lot of interesting places along the way.

“It will definitely help to boost bicycle tourism not only in Sarawak but the whole country,” he told reporters after officiating at the Bike & Ride Padawan 2013 programme at Kampung Bratan at Jalan Puncak Borneo here.

On Malindo Air, Dawos believed the introduction of the new airline would further improve air connectivity in Sarawak in particular and East Malaysia as a whole.

“Of course, it is good because we need to have more airlines. It will bring positive impact to the tourism industry here.”

Malindo Air started its inaugural flights to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching last Friday and yesterday.

In his speech, Dawos pointed out that cycling tourism, which is getting popular, could contribute greatly to the country’s tourism industry if it was given adequate attention.

He, therefore, urged travel agents in the state to be creative and introduce different packages on cycling trips to accommodate the different needs of tourists.